Leonard Frank photo of the first Second Narrows Bridge, circa 1925 to 1930. The bridge was opened on Nov. 7, 1925 and was closed and redesigned after a ship hit it in 1930. This print has been heavily doctored to make it print better in the Province, which ran it.Leonard Frank / PNG

If you wanted to get from Vancouver to the North Shore in 1907, you had to take a boat, or swim.

But the 20-year-old city had no shortage of big schemes. And on Feb. 8, 1907, the Daily Province announced the Vancouver, Westminster and Yukon Railway wanted to build a bridge across the Second Narrows.

The Province didn’t like it.

“If the scheme goes through that great area of water frontage on both sides of the Inlet to the east of the Second Narrows and on the North Arm of the Inlet might as well be shut off by a breakwater from communication by the sea,” said a front-page story.

“For certainly the erection of a low-level bridge at the Second Narrows will be as effectual as a dam in preventing shipping from passing Hastings (townsite).”

The V.W. & Y. Railway was headed by local lumber baron John Hendry, who had linked up with the Great Northern Railway in the States to try to provide an alternative to the Canadian Pacific.

He must have been a Liberal, because the Province was politically Conservative. On Feb. 9 the rival Vancouver World slammed the Province for attacking “every proposal made by (the V.W. & Y.) with bitterness.”

The World then debunked the Province story by going to the V.W. & Y and finding that the actual plan was for a bridge 50 feet above the water, with a swing span that would open to allow larger vessels through.

“When the V.W. & Y. crosses the Second Narrows it will be one of the most magnificent bridges in the whole west,” stated the World.

The World ran an illustration of the bridge on July 14, 1907 that said it would come with nine piers and stretch 1560 feet (475 metres) across the Second Narrows.

But the plan foundered, in part because it was a railway bridge with no pedestrian or vehicle traffic. When several municipalities (including Vancouver and North Vancouver) approached the V.W. & Y. about building a joint traffic and railway bridge, the railway said it would do it for $250,000, along with $50,000 for upkeep.

The catch was the V.W. & Y. wanted to retain sole ownership. The municipalities balked, and in 1910 resurrected the Burrard Inlet Tunnel and Bridge company, which had first been incorporated in 1892.

A Nov. 1, 1910 story in the World said $600,000 had been raised for the $1.2 million bridge, but the economic recession just before the First World War sunk the plan.

The project got back on track in July, 1923, when the Northern Construction company signed a contract to build the bridge for $1.25 million. Various levels of government demanded changes, which brought the cost up to about $2 million.

The Second Narrows bridge finally opened on Nov. 7, 1925, and was an instant hit, drawing 16,000 cars and 35,000 people on opening weekend. It was a toll bridge, charging 15 cents for cars and five cents for passengers or pedestrians. The rail deck opened in 1926.

April 24, 1930. SS Losmar after knocking down a span of the Second Narrows Bridge. Vancouver Archives AM54-S4-: Br P9.5PNG

The steel bridge was designed by William Smaill, chief engineer for Northern Construction. It was a “bascule” bridge with two towers and a counterweight that lifted part of the bridge to let ships pass through.

Unfortunately, ships kept running into it, partly because there were strong currents at the Second Narrows. On Sept. 19 1930, a barge hit the bridge’s centre span, and the 300 foot span fell into Burrard Inlet. The bridge would remain closed until 1933.

This led to all sorts of alternative schemes. In June 1931 the Cote Commission recommended building a $5.250 million “lockless canal” that would cut through the North Shore tidal flats. The two-and-a-half mile long canal would have a top width of up to 400 feet, and been 30 feet deep.

Incredibly a pair of original 1931 Province illustrations showing the Cote Commission’s plan are still in our “Second Narrows Bridge, Old” file.

But the plan was too costly in the depression, and the existing bridge was refurbished and reopened. It was finally replaced by the current Second Narrows Bridge in 1960.

July 19, 1931 illustration of a plan to build a canal at the Second Narrows on Burrard Inlet. This plan came from the Cote Commission, which was looking into solutions to the problems experienced by the first Second Narrows Bridge, which ships kept running into. The view is from the North Shore looking south.PNG

July 14, 1931 close-up of the plan to build a canal at the Second Narrows on Burrard Inlet.PNG

Feb. 9, 1907 front page of the Vancouver World with a story on the Second Narrows Bridge.PNG

The day before the Second Narrows Bridge opened on Nov. 7, 1925, The Vancouver Sun ran a special section on the bridge. This is the cover.PNG

Nov. 10, 1925 Vancouver Sun story on the opening of the first Second Narrows Bridge on Nov. 7, 1925.PNG

The first Second Narrows Bridge looked like this in 1934 after the original cantilever span was replaced by a vertical lift. Photo filed in June 12, 1934.Province /
PNG

The 1907 plan for a Second Narrows Bridge by the Vancouver, Westminster and Yukon Railway. This ran in the July 14, 1907 Vancouver World.PNG

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